Author's Note: the second part of this chapter relies heavily on the episode "Children of the Force" Season 2, Episode 3. If you're here and you haven't seen that episode, no worries but you are missing awesome Clone War episodes. Also, if you are here, thanks for coming! Disclaimer: I don't own anything, don't make any money off of this, and you should really watch the episodes.
He listened in, but was doubtful of the exchange happening before him, the one that was changing his life. The pale man with Watto still stood calmly, but he should have been angered by the Toydarian behind the counter the boy sat upon. Overflowing with patience, the man nodded in consolation, as Watto raged over the ridiculous idea of the sale of his property that he had obtained fairly through a bet. The boy's mother in the adjoining room, which contained piles of junk from various jobs for the residents of Mos Espa and travelers, winced in sympathy with Watto's punctuating exclamations. The man, however, retained his composure and even smiled at the Toydarian mechanic, amused by his ability to expound his outrage.
Yawning sneakily, the boy wriggled on the counter but stopped under the heavy gaze of the customer. Despite a feeble demeanor, the delicate man had a commanding aura about him. Slowly moving, the boy tried to slide down and away, but Watto caught him by his shoulder and presented him to the buyer, forcibly turning the boy towards the man.
"This, eh? For that much?" Watto spat to the side, narrowly missing a newly repaired droid. Waving his hand, Watto said, "You can have his mother for that amount, but not him."
"I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement." The man's voice, high-pitched and smooth, was not the voice of reason that changed Watto's opinion, but the added money to the pile on the table was.
"Eh-" Watto heavily fluttered in the air, gaze shifting from the boy to the coins. "Fine. You know how to do business, eh?" Swiftly, Watto gathered the coins with a webbed foot while kicking the boy from his perch. "Shmi!"
Roughly shoved off the counter, the boy scrambled to stand up straight next to the man who had come in and bought them, in a single moment, and was guiding them to their hut in the next, Shmi scurrying behind, still carrying a polishing cloth.
There were few things to be gathered. Their droid, C-3PO, gathered himself vocally, as "Oh my," rang from his direction with every pass by that the boy and his mother made. They rushed to pack knickknacks and uncover their hidden savings, barely noting that this would be another home lost on the road.
"You will take us to the children and the holocron." Mace Windu stretched his arm out to the Duros, burning away all thoughts with this demand from Cad Bane. But it was not enough. Not enough to discover where the force-sensitive children were being hidden, and not enough to find the holocron and put an end to the kidnappings.
Next to him Obi-Wan stepped up and added his power to Mace's. Together, their minds merged in unity of purpose, striving to force Cad Bane to reveal the location but not break his mind.
They were close to breaking him, Mace felt. In both senses.
"Sorry boys," Cad Bane whistled, sounding nonchalant. "Looks like you're not getting what you want after all." His mechanized voice grated on Mace's nerves, as did the prisoner's cheery disposition. Perhaps Cad Bane was not as close to breaking as he thought.
But Mace and Obi-Wan were not alone, and a third master, Plo Koon, joined them in forcing the bounty hunter's mind. Mace felt the barrier within Cad Bane's head begin to weaken and crumble, wavering bit by bit. If they were not careful, the Duros would become a wreck of his current self, more reliant on a machine for life than ever.
It would be what he deserved-the thought flit through Mace's mind. Scum like Cad Bane would do anything for money, and now younglings were endangered because someone was paying for them. Cad Bane, and anyone like him, deserved to die. Behind him, Mace heard Obi-Wan gasp, and paid closer attention to the mind in front of him. In his emotional outburst, Mace had pushed too hard and the Duros's mind was close to shattering. Mace immediately pulled back. The other masters pulled back as well.
"Alright," the Duros groaned, rubbing his head. "Alright. Enough! I'll take you to the holocron."
"And the children?" Obi-Wan interjected. "The children are our first priority." Plo Koon stepped around the two of them, nearing Cad Bane and softly probing his mind for damage.
"The children, too," Cad Bane agreed, turning his head away from Klo Poon. "I don't suppose you'd pay me for this, would you." His red, pupil-less eyes bored into the Jedi.
"If by payment you mean trial, then yes, you are getting paid." Obi-Wan folded his arms. The Duros huffed in response.
Mace narrowed his eyes. Cad Bane was audacious, and he would get his reward. "The Senate will decide your fate."
"Oh, lucky me," the Duros groused, and Mace felt a spike of anger.
"Yes. Lucky you." He turned and strode out of the room, casting over his shoulder, "Shall we begin?"
Cad Bane's sigh and Obi-Wan's "of course" mingled and followed him out of the room.
Once he'd attained sufficient distance from the room, Mace took a moment to compose himself. He knew that Obi-Wan and Klo Poon would take Cad Bane directly to the hangar as soon as he was ready to move. Cad Bane is not worth anger, he reminded himself. Mace was a Jedi master, and would carry himself as such. Cad Bane would not be spared, he would be dealt with. And it was not Mace's duty to judge him. After they had rescued the children, Mace would make sure that Cad Bane stood trial and was rewarded appropriately for his actions. Hopefully, the Senate would see the threat Cad Bane was as clearly as Mace did. He doubted that though.
"Uh, sir?"
Mace looked up. A pair of clones, Ponds and some other clone he did not know, stood by him.
"We need to get into that room, sir."
"I see." He moved away from the doorway.
"Sorry, sir!" the one clone apologized, but Ponds just nodded at him and kept his brother moving.
"We'll see you on deck, sir!" Ponds called back.
"Hm," was his response, and Ponds grinned. Why the clone found that funny, he would never know. But a thought occurred to him, and he said, "Actually, I need you with me, Ponds."
Ponds hesitated, confusion clouding his eyes, but issued another, "Yes sir," before turning to the clone by him and saying, "Carry on, trooper."
As they walked away from the other soldier, Ponds asked, "Where are we off to, sir?"
"I'm not sure. Why? Are you missing anything important?" It was rude of him to change Ponds's schedule like this, but Mace was a general. And he needed back-up.
"Just showing the shiny where his job is." The clone strolled alongside Mace, white armor scuffed and dented, a testament to his ability to survive. "They don't make them like they used to, sir."
"I see." He'd heard that newer clones were more likely to be "defective," as the Kaminoans would say, but it was a surprise to hear such a sentiment from Ponds. Perhaps it was a veteran thing. Mace certainly didn't approve of some of the padawans.
Down in the hangar waiting for them, Obi-Wan elegantly slouched against a ship strut, Plo Koon and the bounty hunter already inside. The surroundings did not suit Obi-Wan, mild-mannered smooth-talker that he was. Mace didn't like their surroundings much, but he knew that he and Ponds belonged here in a way that Obi-Wan never would, encompassed by troops and munitions, born to fight. Obi-Wan's talents lay in a different direction than Mace's, which he was reminded of anytime the younger Jedi spoke.
"I was beginning to think you weren't coming." A sardonic smile splayed across Obi-Wan's face. He waved a hand at the ship. "What would Cad Bane say?"
"You'll get to find out." Mace brusquely walked to another nearby transport's ramp, motioning Ponds to get the ship running. "We're splitting up. Have you gotten either location from him already?"
"Yes, apparently the holocron is on some station and the children are on Mustafar." Obi-Wan stroked his mustache a couple times, a nervous tick he'd grown along with the mustache. "Cad Bane seemed quite eager to avoid Mustafar. I don't think it's somewhere one should go alone."
Mace ignored the warning. "I won't be alone, Ponds and I will go to Mustafar while you two retrieve the holocron." Obi-Wan frowned at him, discontent radiating from his body. Mace added, "It will be better to take care of both the children and the holocron simultaneously." Three Jedi masters for one task was a luxury the Jedi high council could not indulge in with this war.
"Well, I suppose you've successfully avoided Cad Bane," Obi-Wan griped, stretching his arms and straightening up to enter his ship, accepting Mace's decision. "I don't mean to overstep, but he gave that information away too easily. I think his accomplice may be with the children. It could be a trap."
"The Jedi impostor?" Mace's emotions burgeoned again, and he took a deliberate breath through his nose to calm himself. This was not his first time encountering a Jedi impostor. They were scum worse than bounty hunters. Obi-Wan had seen this one working with Cad Bane, dressed up as a Jedi and convincing parents that he was taking children to the Jedi temple. "Good."
Obi-Wan cast him a concerned look. "Master Windu, perhaps Master Koon or I should accompany you. Impostor or not, he may be a formidable opponent."
Mace gave a dry chuckle. "Get on the ship, Kenobi." As much as he appreciated the golden boy's concern, Mace did not share it, and he had Ponds with him. "I'll be careful."